Chapter 23

Artemis POV

My brother had enough sense to come immediately when I called. There was a flash of golden light, it dimmed to reveal my brother. My hunters all had enough experience with gods that they had averted their eyes, they turned to my twin and each gave a slight bow to him.

Apollo was in his roman form although it flickered for a millisecond when he saw me. Instead of his usual jeans and t-shirts he was wearing white trousers with a sky-blue suit jacket over a white button-down shirt. He had golden cufflinks which shone like they were miniature suns. His hair was neatly combed and overall he looked much more mature than usual. You'd think I'd prefer him as a roman and although he was more serious and less of a man-whore, his roman form had a dark side. He could be vengeful and jealous and would often demand respect like our father. He had a habit of taking out his anger on mortals who had insulted him in some way again much like our father. While it was common knowledge that I wasn't exactly the kindest god to mortals however my victims usually deserved it and were almost entirely males.

"Hello ladies," he greeted with a flash of his blindingly white teeth. Although his roman form wasn't as bad as his greek he was still a flirt. "Why did you call me? I was busy."

"What do you think?!" I shout sarcastically, gesturing to Eva's body in my lap. "My hunter is fucking dying so HEAL HER!" losing my temper, I know Perseus did something, but I have no idea how effective it was. Is he blind? Why else would I call him in the middle of a battlefield with an unconscious girl in my arms?

"First of all, I don't appreciate being spoken to like that." He said sternly, walking towards me.

"Whatever, heal her!"

"Second, what happened to Percy?" He said nodding his head to the passed-out son of Poseidon. He spoke in a slightly less stern tone but completely ignored me. "And finally, I can't."

"What. Do. You. Mean. You. CAN'T!" I laid Eva down before shooting up to my feet. Anger coursed through my body however there also was an element of fear. He had never, ever admitted he couldn't heal someone and as a roman he was even more proud than usual.

My brother completely ignored me and walked past before crouching down next to Perseus. He laid a hand over our cousins' forehead and muttered something to himself before standing up.

"Overexertion, he used too much power that's all." He said casually before turning back to me. "Lots of rest and maybe a glass of nectar and he'll be- " He was cut off by my foot hitting his chest knocking him to the ground and winding him.

"I don't care." I hissed pushing one of my knives under his chin and kept a foot on his chest, pinning him down. My words weren't entirely true; I felt a small part of me relax knowing that Perseus was alright yet I was still focused on Eva. "Why won't you heal her?!"

Apollo looked pissed but didn't try to free himself. "Not won't, can't."

"What do you mean?" I spoke slowly, emphasising each word with a little more pressure on my knife. A little ichor appeared, and my brother cursed in Ancient Greek.

"Let me stand and put that damn knife down and I'll explain." He demanded angrily. I paused for a second, considering staying where I was but decided to relent and stepped off his chest. He stood up and snapped his fingers removing the boot print from his chest and the dirt and monster ash from his back. He paused for a second before speaking. "This battle was between the forces of Tartarus and the demigods of New Rome; therefore, it would come under 'demi-god affairs' and the Ancient Laws forbid it. If we were part of the battle, like at Athens then I would be able to help."

"Bullshit. I was here and she is part of my hunt. So heal her." I demanded.

"You were here yet for some reason are keeping yourself in disguise. Neither the romans nor the monsters knew your identity. Also, you were one goddess among a few hundred romans. It was for the most part a war fought by the demi-gods. You might want to mess with the ancient laws but I don't." I thought about what he said, part of my thought he might just be lying but part of me understood where he was coming from. "Anyway," he said breaking me out of my thoughts. "She's been seriously injured but is stable, someone's already partially healed her. What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," I answer, still unsure whether he was being truthful. "Perseus did something."

"Any idea what he did?" he questioned, neither of us had ever heard of Perseus being able to heal others.

I shrugged, "It must've been something he inherited from Hestia."

"Possibly," he mused. He touched a hand to Eva's forehead and was silent for a few seconds. I (nor any of the hunters) would never let him touch anyone under usual circumstances but I hoped he had changed his mind about healing her. "She's suffered extensive internal injuries and frankly she should be dead. You owe Percy, whatever he did has stabilized her. She's still in critical condition and will need a lot of care. Tia's a good healer," He nodded to his Greek daughter who was standing with her sisters off to the side." But I'd recommend she stays in the New Rome hospital until she has recovered at least partially."

I wasn't happy at the thought of her staying in a hospital and was going to argue that Tia could heal her but he cut me off as soon as I opened my mouth.

"Artemis, even if Tia was going to be the one to take care of her the hunt would still have to stay here. If you keep her in the hospital she'll be out of the coma in no time."

"Coma, she's in a coma?"

"Like I said she should be dead but Percy stabilized her," he repeated gesturing to the still unconscious hero on the floor. "As a result, yes, she is in a coma. When she wakes you can have her discharged into Tia's care." Once he had finished talking he immediately flashed away leaving me and my hunters with two unconscious bodies.

Linebreak

I was sitting in a chair in a small room with a singular widow to my left. Eva lay in a bed just to my right. I could hear each of her breaths, they were shallow but steady. The stretcher used to transport her was propped up against the wall. We were in the hospital in New Rome, I had demanded that Eva had a private room rather than staying in a ward like most of the other patients. Thalia was the only other person in the room, she sat on the other side of the bed from me. She was dirty and had a couple large cuts and nasty bruises but had insisted that she came with me.

We were sitting in silence when the door opened and in walked a young blonde woman. She looked like a stereotypical doctor with a white coat, a stethoscope around her neck and a clipboard in her hand. She looked almost like a regular mortal, the only things that gave it away were the brilliant blonde hair, perfect tan and bright smile, I could tell she was one of my brother's daughters.

"Hello, I'm Dr Cathy Parks, daughter of Apollo," she introduced while extending her hand out to Thalia.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus,"

The doctor offered me her hand; I shook it while deciding to reveal my true identity. I let my eyes shine to their true extent. "I'm Artemis."

"Oh my, it's a pleasure to meet you milady." Cathy said letting go of my hand and bowing. My head began to hurt and I could tell she was thinking of Diana, my roman form. Thankfully she seemed to get over my identity rather quickly and turned to Eva. "And who's this?"

"Eva, daughter of Aphrodite and one of my best hunters," I answered. She scribbled something down on her clipboard.

"Okay, I'll be overseeing Eva's recovery although there will be others working alongside me."

"That's not a problem but I don't want a single male allowed in this room at any time." I ordered. I wasn't a fan of Eva being in hospital but I could just about stomach it as long as no males were involved.

"Of course, that won't be a problem." She didn't seem surprised by my order. "We'll do everything we can to get Eva out of here as soon as possible but her progress will be slow and uneventful for the most part. Of course, you're welcome to stay if you wish."

I nodded in understanding, I'm not sure why but I like this doctor. "We'd better go and find Chloe before getting back to the rest of the girls," I respond getting out of my seat. "We'll be back to visit tomorrow."

"Of course, should anything happen in the meantime I'll send a messenger." Cathy turned to Thalia, "Would you like a glass of nectar to help with those?" She asked gesturing at Thalia's cuts.

"That would be great."

"I'll walk you out and get you it on the way," Cathy said turning around, Thalia and I just behind her.

Linebreak

Percy POV

I woke lying on something soft like a mattress or couch and the taste of my mom's blue chocolate cookies in my mouth. I knew it must have been nectar, unless I'd somehow been transported back to Manhattan. I had a pounding in my head and every muscle in my body ached. I managed to open my eyes but whoever had fed me the nectar had left my vision so instead I was greeted by the roof of my tent.

"Wakey wakey Percy," someone said in a sing-song voice. I couldn't tell who but they soon spoke again. "How'd you feel?"

"Ugh," was all I could manage at first. I took a second and managed to say the first sentence that came to mind, "Anyone got a grilled cheese?"

AN/: It's not amazingly long and I know not loads happened but I hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think!